One Step Closer To Home
by Krazzy Kezz
Summary: What if the Dimension Cannon was working a lot earlier, and Rose landed in the middle of the Masters reign, in the Year the Never Was? Doc, Rose, Jack, and other familiar faces! Please R&R
1. Chapter 1

**Untitled**

_I started this story ages ago, but only just got back to it recently. it doesnt have a name because D couldnt think of anything, so if you have any suggestions, let me know! This is just a small teaser to get started; I will post the first proper chapter soon._

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><p><strong>Prologue:<strong>

The afternoon sky over southern London darkened rapidly and there was a loud, howling roar as the heavens seemingly split apart. From the dark crevasse, a young woman fell, hit the ground with a dull thump and lay still. Immediately after her crash landing, the hole in space and time receded in on itself and finally closed with a loud boom. The sky was calm once more.

After nearly an hour of lying motionless, the woman took a deep gasp of air and began to stir. Moaning softly, she lifted her head and, squinting, took in her surroundings. She had landed in a paddock of some sort she guessed, judging by the waist high grass that surrounded her.

The woman struggled stiffly to her feet and brushed herself off before standing straight. She was of what would be considered average appearance. She was not overtly tall or short, and she didn't have any remarkable features that would distinguish her from a crowd. Her light, sandy-blonde hair was pulled into a rough pony tail which reached the middle of her back and she wore no makeup.

Her attire was simple and practical – black stretch fabric jeans, dark grey tee shirt, a lightweight black waterproof hooded jacket and comfortable black boots. Whilst in relatively good condition, her outfit was well worn and slightly dirty from her rough landing. Strapped to her waist was a holster carrying a glock pistol and some spare ammunition cartridges.

The only jewellery the young woman wore was a thin silver chain around her neck that was mostly obscured by her clothes, and a simple silver band – a gift from her mother – on her right ring finger.

On closer inspection, it could be seen that her brown eyes were sprinkled with the most unusual gold flecks that seemed to shift and change continually.

After a minute, the woman turned in a semi-circle and spotted the buildings of what she guessed to be Cardiff in the distance. Her eyes, which lit up with hope and joy seemed to radiate golden light.

"One step closer to home," whispered Rose Tyler happily.

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><p><em>Reviewsfeedback is VERY welcome! I would love to hear what you think so far, or if you have any ideas for a name. Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and to _TheAdventuresJustBeginning_ for the name. I must warn you in advance, I'm a bit stuck on the next chapter so it might be a while until the next upload. But for now, read on..._

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><p>Chapter One:<p>

It was nearly half an hour of walking later that Rose began to realise something was not quite right, and she cursed herself for not paying attention and noticing earlier.

It was silent. She had been travelling along what should be a well-used lane through small paddocks on the outskirts of Cardiff, but had not come across a single car, person or animal since she landed.

"Shit!" Rose swore quietly as she stopped and surveyed her surroundings, this time through eyes that had been trained to notice everything, from the smallest piece of evidence to a possible ambush. The grass was longer than usual for this time of year, she observed, and there were places where fences had been broken and not mended. Up ahead there was a tree branch on the road and, judging by the discolouration of the leaves, it had been there for months.

Fully alert now, Rose moved quickly into the small smattering of trees and bushes that lined one side of the road. After a few moments spent considering her options, she decided to continue on towards the city. Treading carefully, she began to make her way along the roadside, her eyes moving rapidly to monitor the environment.

After a few minutes, Rose realised she could hear a soft rumble that was becoming louder and closer by the moment. Instantly, she flattened herself against the nearest tree trunk and tried to stay as hidden as possible.

The battered old truck came slowly around the corner and into view. Along the side of it was a faded and chipped banner that advertised low price furniture removals. At the wheel was an older man and sitting beside him was a teenage boy, maybe a few years younger than herself Rose guessed. Having decided that, with both her training and her weapon, they would probably not be able to overpower her, she stepped out from her hiding place and onto the side of the road.

The brakes of the old truck screeched loudly as it came to a rapid halt in front of Rose. The two people in the cabin stared at her gobsmacked for a moment, before the older one quickly wound down his window.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he spoke in a furious whisper. "Are you trying to get us all killed?"

Rose, who was rather taken aback by this greeting didn't respond immediately.

"Come on, you fool!" the older man continued. "Get in here now, before one of them finds us!"

Sensing his urgency, Rose nodded quickly and raced around to the other side of the cabin and jumped in through the door that had been opened for her. As she did so, she puuled her gun from its holster and stuffed it into the back of her jeans underneath her jacket – she didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble or raise suspicion. She was hardly seated when they began moving again, the driver constantly searching the skies and checking his rear vision mirrors, a worried look on his face.

After a moments silence in which Rose realised that neither of the men were going to start the conversation, she spoke.

"Thanks for stopping for me," she began. "I'm Rose Tyler by the way, and who would you pair be?"

The older man ignored her, still looking furiously angry, but the teenager turned toward her to answer.

"I'm Michael and this is Frank, and the others are all over the back – there's Katie, Tim, James, Ebony, Jen, Bluey, Matt, Rachel, Flick, Benji, JJ, Sarah and Little Lukey. He's the youngest of the bunch – hates us calling him that though," Michael reeled off in a single breath, ticking the names off on his fingers as he went. "But I gotta know, what were you doing out alone like that? Have you got like, a medical pass, or are ya one of them crazy rebel people?"

"Sorry, no passes and not a crazy rebel," Rose replied. "No idea what you're talking about in fact."

There was a moments silence before Rose spoke again. "So tell me boys, what are we hiding from?"

This time, Frank reacted. "You think this is a bloody joke woman?" he roared. "Who the hell do you think you are, swanning in here and pretending like there's nothing wrong? Millions are dead, and hear you are, mucking about! My daughter–"

Frank fell silent and continued concentrating on the road, his eyes watery with unshed tears. Rose, who had been rather surprised by his sudden outburst, recovered quickly.

"I'm sorry Frank," she murmured quietly. "I had no idea, I really didn't."

"How can you not know about the Toclafane?" Michael asked incredulously. "They're everywhere!"

"I'm a bit of a recluse, really. Or a traveller, I 'spose you could call me," Rose explained, leaving out the details about parallel universes and time travel. "I haven't talked to anyone from around these parts in ages."

"Wow," Michael said in hushed tones. "You really have no idea."

"How about you tell me then?" Rose countered.

There was a long pause in which Rose waited anxiously, before Michael took a deep breath and began.

"It all started about eight months ago. Well, I 'spose it really began ages back – before he became Prime Minister – but eight months ago is when the aliens came."

"Who is he?" Rose asked quietly when he stopped to take a breath.

"The Master. Or Harold Saxon. Least that's what he says his name is, he probably has some freaky alien name instead. But anyway, Saxon was what he used to call himself, back when he was running for Prime Minister."

This time it was Frank who interrupted as he took up the story.

"Everyone voted for him. Heck, I did," he growled. "Then the bastard gets up there, ranting about how sick the country is and how it needs a doctor, and next minute there's millions of metal soccer balls flying around killing people!"

"A doctor? He said that? The country needs a doctor?" Rose intervened quickly.

"Yeah, something like that," Frank replied, waving his hand in the air. "But the point is that these things – he calls them the Toclafane – are in control of the whole world now. Nobody goes anywhere or does anything without their say so – if you try, you die. Painfully. And Saxon is their Master." He spoke the last words with contempt.

"So what are you guys doing out here?" Rose asked curiously.

"We're a work crew," Michael explained, holding up his worker pass for her to see. "There's fifteen people in each one – every day we drive out from Cardiff to the base to work a 12hr shift on the rockets, then go home."

"Rockets?"

"Yeah, something about rebuilding some planet that got blown up ages ago," he said. "Saxon's a complete nutter, I tell ya."

Rose was about to ask more questions, but she was cut off by Franks announcement that they had arrived. He turned to look at her.

"Right missy, this is how its gunna go. We could all get killed for hiding you, so before we decide, we gotta talk to the whole group," he said sternly. "If they say yes, we'll try our best to keep ya hidden. If not, well you're on your own. I know it sounds tough, but this is all the family I got now, and I aint losing any more of them."

Rose smiled gently at him before replying. "That's okay Frank, you're a good person – you only want to protect your loved ones. You've already done so much for me."

"Well, I dunno 'bout that," Frank said gruffly, turning slightly pink at the compliment. "Righto then, let's go see what the others have to say."

- DW -

Frank and Michael left Rose in the cabin of the removalist van as they went around to the back of the back doors to let the others out. She could hear them speaking in low, rapid tones, then the replies of voices she didn't recognise.

Rose tried to decipher what was being said, but it was too muffled by the distance between them. Suddenly, the door beside her flew open, and she squeaked in surprise.

"Come on, then missy," said Frank, wearing the first smile Rose had seen on him. "Time to meet the family."

Rose returned the smile happily, grateful for their easy acceptance and lack of suspicion. Quickly, she jumped down from the truck and, with Michael leading her, made her way toward the nearest house.

Appalling was the first word that came to Rose's mind when she saw the state of the house's interior. The whole place smelt distinctly of urine, sweat and fear. It was obvious that those living there had done their best to keep the place immaculate, but it was an impossible task with the sheer number of people living there.

Rose stood in shock, before moving forward slowly. By the time she had reached the main living area, she had counted at least 17 people, and that was excluding those that were perched on the staircase, or those on the upper level.

The people stared blankly at the newcomer, their faces gaunt and expressionless, their eyes showing defeat. Rose, who felt extremely uncomfortable with so many strangers staring at her, shifted her weight on her feet and tried not to catch anyone's eye.

"Erm... everyone – this is Rose," Frank spoke to the room. "She's gunna be staying with us for a while. Anyone got a problem with that?"

Everyone either nodded their heads, muttered their consent or simply did nothing.

"Excellent!" Frank exclaimed, rubbing his hands together and trying to sound optimistic. "Right, Katie, can you take Rose upstairs and get her settled in with you and Sarah?"

"Sure Frank," a young woman with dark hair said as she stepped forward to introduce herself.

Rose followed Katie closely, squeezing between the crowds to get to the staircase. Without warning, another woman cut in front of her, forcing Rose to look up sharply.

"Sarah? Sarah-Jane Smith?" Rose exclaimed in disbelief when he saw the woman's face. "Is that seriously you?"

The woman in question paused on her way up the cramped staircase and turned on the spot to stare down at Rose.

"Rose Tyler?" she whispered. "What the hell are you doing here? Where's the Doctor?"

At the mention of his name, the events of the 48 hours finally caught up with her and she collapsed to her knees with an exhausted sob.

"Oh, Rose darling," Sarah murmured as she moved quickly back down the stairs to kneel next to Rose. "It's okay, sweetie. How about we get you upstairs and into bed – you look like you could you a decent sleep. And when you are feeling better we can talk, if you feel like it."

Rose smiled gratefully up at the older woman, her eyes filled with unshed tears. With Sarah's help, she slowly stood and began up the climb through the silent onlookers to the second floor. She was lead to a small empty room at the end of the hallway that was lined with mattresses and small piles of personal possessions.

Sarah directed Rose toward the nearest mattress and helped her down onto it, feeling the need to care for her. Soon she was in only her shirt and jeans and tucked firmly under the blankets.

"Sleep now darling," Sarah murmured. "You're safe here."

Rose fell into a dreamless sleep almost immediately, comforted by the motherly feeling of the hand that gently stroked her hair.

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><p><em>Would love to hear your thoughts or suggestions! Please leave me a review!<em>


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks for all the reviews! A big shout out to my fellow Australian **Laura (aka aussieflower)** - thank you for the message and kind words! _

_Now, on with the story..._

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><p>It was dark when Rose woke. She sat up suddenly, gun in hand until she realised where she was and relaxed slightly. Tucking the gun back into the back of her jeans, she listened to the quiet hum of voices below her before standing up and heading out of the room.<p>

It was dinnertime downstairs and the almost 30 members of the household were greedily gulping down their meagre servings of stew, the only meal of the day.

"Rose!" Sarah-Jane called from her position in the kitchen. "I saved you a serve."  
>"I'm not hungry thanks," Rose replied as she moved through the crowded rooms. "Give it to someone who needs it more."<p>

"You have to eat," someone spoke up. Her names Ebony, thought Rose. "You need your strength here; if you don't eat you die."

Rose nodded her head in acknowledgement and took the bowl from Sarah-Jane. She dipped her finger in and brought it to her mouth. It was disgusting; its watery consistency tasted like rotten cabbage and carrot, mixed in with chicken noodle soup. Trying not to grimace, lose brought the bowl to her mouth and downed the foul mixture in a few large gulps.

"Awful, isn't it?" Sarah-Jane commented.

"Just a bit," Rose agreed putting the bowl down on the sink.

"But food is food, and it's all we have," said Sarah-Jane. "Now Rose, if you feel up to it I'd really like to know how it is you are here."

"It's a long story," Rose warned.

"We have nothing but time," Sarah replied.

Taking seats at the recently vacated table, Rose began. "It started at the Battle of Canary Warf. Do you remember that?"

Sarah nodded, as did a number of people around them who had begun to listen.

"We were there, the Doctor and me. And my mum and Mickey; even my dad from a parallel universe. The Doctor worked out that the only way to stop the daleks and the cybermen was to pull them all into the void, but him, Mickey and my dad and me were all covered in voidstuff – it's like radiation you get from crossing the void – so we would have got dragged in too. He used the Dimension Cannon that Mickey had created to send us all to the parallel world so we would be safe. He tried to get me to stay there but I wouldn't, I came back. The Doctor and I opened the void and held onto some clamps to stop from being dragged in, but I slipped and fell. I would have ended up in the void if it wasn't for my dad – he came back through and caught me as I fell. And then we were back in the parallel universe, the void closed and I was stuck."

Rose paused and took a deep shuddering breath. The room was silent; everybody was listening now, hanging onto her every word. Finally she continued.

"I don't know how long it's been in this universe, but I was stuck there for three years. But I wasn't just doing nothing; I was working on a way of getting myself back. My dad, he is head of an organisation called Torchwood that deals with aliens and the likes so I was working for them. We were working on getting the Dimension Cannon operational again, and a month ago we succeeded. Since then I've been hoping through different universes. I thought I had landed in another alternate universe, and it wasn't until you recognised me Sarah-Jane, that I realised I had the right one," Rose finished. "And now, I would like someone to tell me what the hell is going on here, because this is nothing like the earth I left three years ago!"

Between the group of them, they explained to Rose the events of the year since Harold Saxon had been elected Prime Minister.

"You all voted for him?" Rose asked in disbelief.

"Well, we didn't know!" someone protested. "He sounded so good, and right… it wasn't like we knew he was a psycho!"

"Sorry," Rose said quickly.

There was a pause before another man in the back of the room spoke up. "This Doctor of yours, does he have a blue box?"

"Yes!" Rose exclaimed, standing up quickly. "How did you know?"

The man pushed his way to the front of the room. "I was in London, back when it all started. There was this girl, Martha Jones her name was."

A number of people around the room started murmuring. "Martha Jones, you've met Martha Jones?" someone asked disbelievingly.

"Quiet!" Sarah-Jane called. "Let Benji speak."

More confident now, the man called Benji continued. "She said she knew how to stop the Master. Then she told us a story, a story about a man called the Doctor. A man that travelled around in a blue box and that has saved the earth countless times. She said that we all have to think of the Doctor on the same day, at the exact same time." Benji paused. "I didn't believe her; how is thinking about some mystery man gunna stop the Master? But if you know him too… maybe her story was true."

Who is this mystery woman, Rose wondered. Putting that thought aside, she turned to Benji. "Right, I need to know every single detail of what Martha Jones said. Because I know the Doctor, and if anyone can save the world, it's him."

The next half an hour was spent listening to Benji tell his story. Every so often, someone else would speak up, adding a few words about what they had seen or heard. Together, they slowly pieced together the puzzle of Martha Jones and the Doctor, and finally Rose was confident she had the entire story. She stood up from the table.

"I've got to go Sarah," Rose said as she pulled on her jacket. "If telling this story will help the Doctor save the world, then that's what I have to do."

"It's too dangerous out there Rose! What if something happens to you? The Doctor will be devastated!" Sarah-Jane replied, trying to make her stay.

"If something happens to me, the Doctor will never even know I was here," Rose said harshly. "And you won't tell him."

"Well, if you won't stay, then Luke and I are coming with you," Sarah-Jane said.

"I still can't believe you have a son, amazing." Rose paused and looked directly at her. "I'm not going to be able to convince you otherwise, am I?"

"No."

"Okay then," Rose sighed. "But we have to leave now. It will be safer to move in the dark."

She turned to the group surrounding them. "You lot, you have to spread the story. Learn it from Benji and then tell everybody. When the time comes, every single person needs to be thinking of the Doctor. Okay?"

The group nodded eagerly; this was the first sign of hope they had had in a long time. Within five minutes, Sarah-Jane and Luke had collected their small piles of possessions and were saying goodbye to their friends. And then they were out the door and into the night.

- DW -

Cloaked in the darkness of night, they made their way silently across Cardiff. It was a slow process as they had to stop, and sometimes take detours whenever they came across a patrol – human soldiers or Toclafane.

The sun was just beginning to rise and the workers of the night shift return to their houses when they decided to stop and find shelter. They were in a business district, and the street was lined with glass from shattered window fronts. After checking to see that there were no metal spheres nearby, the trio slipped quietly inside the nearest shop.

Before the invasion it had been a modest electrical store, but everything of value had been stolen or trashed by looters long ago. Broken appliances and glass lay strewn across the floor, covered by a thick coating of dust.

Rose made her way straight to the back of the little shop and disappeared through a doorway. "There's an door out through the storeroom. I've jammed the door for now, but it'll be handy if we need to make a quick exit," she called softly back to Sarah-Jane. She came back into the store and began moving junk off the tables nearest the front windows.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked curiously as her and Luke watched on.

"Making a barricade," she grunted as she tipped a table on its side. "It won't stop bullets but it will give us some cover from prying eyes and give us some warning if someone comes along."

Within a few minutes she had constructed a decent barrier between the broken windows and the rest of the shop. "There," she said, dusting off her hands. "As long we stay low, we should be able to move around without being spotted."

Rose then dug into the right front pocket of her jeans and after digging around for a moment she pulled an entire blanket from it. "Bigger on the inside," she explained to their astounded looks. "Now both of you should go and get some rest while I take first sentry duty. I've only got the one blanket sorry."

"Luke, you go get settled in. I'll be in in a little while," said Sarah-Jane.

"Okay mum," Luke replied taking the blanket and heading towards the storage room at the back of the shop.

Rose sat down behind the barricade, and Sarah copied her. From her position, Rose could see both ways down the street through gaps between the tables. As she sat, she pulled her gun out of its holster and placed it on the ground in front of her, then dug into her pocket again. From it she pulled another two pistols and a handful of ammunition magazines.

"I want you to take these," she said to Sarah-Jane, holding out one of the guns and some ammunition.

"Rose, I can't do that," Sarah replied with mixed emotions. "You know what the Doctor says; no guns."

"The Doctor isn't here to save us this time," Rose replied bluntly still holding out the weapon. "Think of Luke, Sarah-Jane. If you won't take it to protect yourself, as least take it for his sake."

There was silence for a moment before Sarah spoke hesitantly. "What have you been doing in that parallel world? The Rose I knew a year ago was a peaceful person; she would never even consider using a gun, let alone carrying three! You act like you are a soldier now."

"That Rose grew up," Rose said harshly, but then she sighed and her shoulders hunched over. "I'm sorry Sarah-Jane; that was rude. A lot has happened in the years I've been gone."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sarah asked softly.

"Not particularly". There was silence, then Rose sighed again. "I work for Torchwood. I knew a lot about aliens – more than most of the people that worked there – so I was made the leader of a team pretty quick. It helped that the TARDIS was still in my head and translating alien languages, so I could speak on behalf of the human race. Most of the aliens we came across were friendly; some were looking for refuge, some had crashed, some were just after directions. But some of them weren't so friendly."

She paused and took a shuddering breath. "I've seen good people – my friends – be murdered by races that think that planets like ours are just theirs for the taking. I learnt pretty quickly that talking doesn't always work. Sometimes you have to fight to protect what's yours, and if being armed and prepared to use it means we lose less human lives, that's something I'm willing to accept."

"Rose…" Sarah-Jane murmured.

"If I hadn't tried talking creatures out of taking over earth, then some of my friends would still be alive," Rose finished. "Please Sarah-Jane, take the gun."

"Okay, I'll take it," Sarah agreed albeit reluctantly. She picked the weapon up from where it was sitting on the floor, tucked it into her jeans like she had seen Rose do earlier and put the spare ammunition in her pocket.

"Now, about tonight," Rose said, changing the subject. "I think you and Luke should stay in the area and tell the story. I want to sneak into one of these rocket factories to see what they are doing for myself. We can meet back here at the change of shift in the morning."

"Okay," Sarah said. "But you promise to be careful. Don't take any risks; I want to see you back here safely."

"I will," Rose promised. "You should get some sleep Sarah. I will wake you in a few hours so you can take a turn at being sentry."

With that, Rose turned back to the road to keep a look out, and Sarah-Jane slipped away into the back room to sleep. A few minutes later Rose dug into her bigger on the inside pocket for a third time, this time pulling out a mobile phone. She typed out a quick message and pressed send, then settled in for what was most likely going to be a few uneventful hours.

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><p><em>I know Rose and Sarah-Jane might seem a bit OC, but I think that extreme times call for extreme measures and in a situation like this one you might be likely to turn away from your moral beliefs. Plus, as I said, Rose has had a lot of time in the parallel world and she has changed a lot.<em>

_Now, I have an important question for you. Hypothetically, you have a bunch of rockets/missiles that you want to get rid of. Do you A: make then faulty so they cant fly, or B: blow them up? Im quite partial to the blowing up idea, but I thought Id get your opinion too._

_Please review and let me know what you think!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello all! Its midnight here in Australia and I just finished writing this chapter. I hope its alright as I am tired and couldn't be bothered going back over it. Hopefully none of it is too ridiculous or OC, but see for yourself - read on..._

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><p>Rose was surprised at how easy it was to get into the shipyard. She slipped into the crowd of people dragging themselves into the busses and trucks that had pulled up in the lamp-lit streets. Everyone was to exhausted and downtrodden to notice an extra person amongst them, so she didn't have to make much of an effort to stay undiscovered. The drive to the shipyard didn't take long, and when they arrived everyone piled off the bus to join the queue of people making their way inside the high barbed wire fences.<p>

The area was lit brightly with many floodlights which made it difficult for her to see, so Rose stayed in the middle of the crowd and went with the general flow of traffic until she ended up in a large warehouse building that had been converted into a factory. In front of her was a conveyor belt for an assembly line, at which people started taking up positions. Presently, the conveyor started to move and she stood close to take a look at the items that were now progressing along it.

The technology wasn't familiar to her, but she knew enough to recognise that it was considerably advanced for the current era. 'They probably brought it with them. Where is the Identification of Alien Artefacts Department when you need them?' she thought idly.

Having learnt as much as she could there, Rose exited the warehouse. There were still plenty people outside moving between the buildings, rockets pads and the docks so she able to blend in as she walked down the brightly lit main road of the facility. She hadn't gone far when she spotted a sign that read 'Administration' with an arrow pointing left.

She ducked out of the way as a truck rumbled past and jogged down the path toward the three storey building. There was a narrow walkway around the building so she took another left and crept around the corner. When she came to the first window she took a quick peek inside – the room was dark and empty. Rose gave the glass a small tug and was surprised when it slid smoothly open. Taking one last look around her, she climbed in and shut the window behind her.

Not willing to risk turning on a light, Rose had to wait for her eyes to adjust to the darkness before she could see anything. It didn't take long until she was able to make out basic shapes, and she could see that the room she was in was a storage room, filled with shelves of extra stationary and what appeared to be unopened boxes holding new computers stacked in one corner.

Deciding not to waste any more time in the room, Rose crept to the door, digging her hand into her pocket as she did so. After digging around for a while she pulled out a small makeup compact and opened it to show the mirror inside. She opened the door slowly, just enough for her to poke the mirror out. There was no one outside.

After a quick look around she discovered that the lower level was just basic administration offices, so she moved quickly down the hallway and went up a flight of stairs. Directly in front of her was a room marked 'Control Room'. She slipped silently inside.

"Who are you?" a nervous voice demanded.

Cursing silently, Rose turned slowly around. Standing before her was a young man, barely out of his teens in military uniform and holding a large gun that was pointing directly at her.

"I, I said w-who are you?" he stuttered, waving the gun. "W-What are you doing here?"

Rose held her hands out to the side in a non-threatening manner. "I'm sorry, I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere; I don't know where I am," she said, pretending to be lost and confused.

"I-I don't b-believe you," the young soldier said, the stress evident in his voice. Still pointing his gun at Rose, he pulled a radio from his belt. "I'm calling for backup."

"Wait!" Rose cried, taking a step forward. The soldier raised his gun. "Just give me a minute to explain. If you still want to call for backup after that then I won't stop you," she begged.

He lowered his gun slightly. "Okay, you have one minute."

"My name is Rose," she began. "What's yours?"

"Tommy," he replied uncertainly.

"Nice to meet you Tommy. Have you heard of Martha Jones?"

He nodded his head.

"Well I'm like her," Rose continued. "I want to stop the Master and the Toclafane. But to do that I need to know what is going on inside these rocket factories so we can work out a way to fight back. So I need you to not call for backup, but to tell me everything you know, and let me leave here afterwards. Okay Tommy?"

"I-I can't," Tommy stuttered. "The Master promised us that our families would be safe if we did what we were told and my girlfriend, we just had a baby."

"No one will be safe if we don't stop him Tommy," Rose countered. "We will all get killed eventually. Be honest with yourself; do you really think any of you will be left alive once we have fulfilled your purpose?"

There was a pause before Tommy took a deep breath and slung his gun over his arm. "Over here," he said, walking over to a large table in the middle of the room. "Here's the plans for the missiles. They plan on sending them out into space, to other planets. Aliens! If you'd told me that a while back I never would have believed you."

"There's more species out there than you could ever imagine," Rose said idly as she stared at the missile blueprints. She didn't understand most of it, but she figured that they could be useful at some point so she folded up a copy and shoved them into her pants pocket.

Suddenly the sound of voices could be heard from outside the door and they were getting closer. "Quick! Get in there!" said Tommy panicking, as he pushed her through the nearest door and slammed it shut. It was dark inside, but from the small size Rose guessed she was in a storage cupboard. As she listened, the door to the control room was opened what she guessed was two or three people came inside.

"Look what we have here boys!" exclaimed a man's voice rudely. "It's little Timmy Foster."

"It-it's Tommy Sir," Tommy stuttered.

"I don't give a shit what your name is Timmy," the name replied cruelly, stepping closer to the cupboard Rose was hiding in. "Who were you talking to just now?"

Rose held her breath.

"No-no one Sir. Just myself," said Tommy in an almost whisper.

"You're pathetic Foster," the man said and the men with him sniggered. ""Now go get me a coffee then get back to your post, pronto!"

"Yes S-sir," Tommy squeaked as he rushed out of the room. The men laughed and Rose could hear the sound of chairs scrapping along the ground as they were pulled out from the table. As they got comfortable, Rose relaxed slightly and prepared herself for what could potentially be a long wait.

- DW -

Rose wasn't willing to risk herself being discovered by pressing the illuminate button on her watch, so she didn't know how many hours had passed before the men finally left the room and she was able to escape. What she did know is that she was in desperate need of a toilet, but that would have to wait a while longer. When she clambered back out the window on the ground floor of the building she could see that it was still dark out, but it was now the early hours of the morning. She quickly decided to try and get a look at one of the rockets that were being built nearby.

Sicking to the shadows, Rose headed in the direction of the fields of launch pads. It didn't take her long before she reached the edge of the open space, and she quickly moved to the nearest rocket. There was little light and no movement in the area she was in, so she guessed that these ones had already been completed.

The rocket sat on a raised platform about a meter off the ground, and Rose crawled underneath. She pulled a small silver device, slightly longer than a regular pocket knife out of her jeans and pressed a button on the side. The end of the device lit up brightly like a torch, but she covered it with her hand so that only a small amount of light escaped. Bathed in the dim light she could see that the centre of the platform was cut out and she could look up into the base of the rocket. Above her head, three massive engines formed a triangle and between them was a hatch that, by some miracle, had been left open.

Rose stood and pulled herself up through and hatch and into the belly of the rocket. It was cramped inside and she wasn't able to move much. There was a ladder that led up the side of one of the engines into a higher compartment, so she held her torch in her mouth and continued upwards. The next section was small and she could only just stand up inside it. The circular walls were covered in technological devices; computers, circuit boards and plenty of other things that Rose didn't recognise. Quickly, she pulled out her mobile phone and began snapping pictures of the equipment. Once she was satisfied she had documented everything she put the phone back in her pocket and continued up the ladder to the next level.

The hatch was closed when she reached it but it slid open easily. She poked her head through it and discovered, to her surprise, that the rest of the rocket was empty. A vast space rose above her head, stretching at least twenty meters high. She was confused until she saw a large hatch half way up the wall. 'Oh,' she thought. 'This must be where the Toclafane go.'

Deciding that she had seen enough Rose backed down the ladder and landed back on the ground underneath the rocket platform. She crept to the edge and poked her head out. It was still dark and there was no one about. Staying low to the ground, she made a dash back in the direction she had come towards the nearest building.

"Hey! Stop or I'll shoot!"

"Shit," Rose cursed as she froze and put her hands in the air.

"Turn around," the voice commanded. Rose turned slowly and squinted as the light from the soldier's torch shone directly in her eyes. The man waved his rifle at her. "Get in front of me and don't try anything or I will kill you."

Rose stepped forward slowly. "Where are you taking me?" she asked.

"To the Commander," the soldier replied with a cruel grin. "Any workers found out of their area are taken to him to be punished."

As he spoke, Rose walked toward the soldier. As she was about to pass him she leapt into action, swinging around and shoving the gun upwards into its owner's face. The man cried out as he staggered backwards, but the sound was masked by the piercing booms of the rifle as it fired uncontrollably.

Rose ran. She raced out of the field of rockets and between the buildings, taking cover in the darkness they provided. She kept running, stopping only to peer about the corner of each building before continuing through the maze of concrete and corrugated iron. After a while she stopped in an intersection and turned slowly around. She was lost.

"Shit," she cursed again quietly.

Suddenly, the silently was broken by the roaring of bullets slamming into the wall nearest her. She took off at a sprint. She skidded in the loose gravel as she raced around a corner, almost falling over but somehow managing to keep upright. She kept running, changing directions at every opportunity until slowly, the gap between her and the soldiers was getting wider. She was starting to feel confident that she had gotten away when out of the darkness loomed the fence that surrounded the compound. It was meters tall and on top, vicious circles of barbed wire prevented anyone from going over it.

Not pausing, she whipped out the silver device that she had used earlier. Like a regular pocket knife, it had tools that could be pulled out of the handle; however the one that Rose chose was anything but regular. She held the device up to the fence and there was a small hissing noise as a laser beam slices through the mesh like warm butter.

Grinning, Rose slowly moved the device across the wire, making an opening big enough for her to fit through. She was almost finished when the sound of crunching gravel reached her ears and the soldiers rounded the corner behind her.

"Fire!" a man screamed. There was a roar as bullets filled the air, all headed in the one direction. But none of them reached their target; it was as if they ricocheted off an invisible barrier surrounding her. Rose Tyler seemed to have a slightly ethereal quality to her as she softly radiated golden light. The soldiers stopped firing in awe, and watched as the mysterious being walked calmly through the hole in the fence and disappeared into the night.

- DW -

Rose wasn't sure how long it was until she became aware of herself again, but the sun was beginning to rise and she was standing in a field in the middle of nowhere.

"Done it again. I wish I could remember what happened," she grumbled. She looked around and sighed. "It's going to be a long walk back to Cardiff."

Her musings were interrupted by the shrill ring of her mobile. Frowning, she pulled it out of her pocket and answered. "Hello?"

"Mickey Smith, reporting for duty Captain! Now where are you and what the hell is going on here?"

* * *

><p><em>What did you thing? Rambling of a psychotic mind? (I knew that already!) Anyways, I would much appreciate you letting me know your thoughts andor suggestions! Please leave me a review! (I'm not above begging, haha)_


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